Kennedy: Art should be about idea, not owning it

The installation "How to Understand a Beggar's Request" is featured in artist Shawn Kennedy's show "The Deconstruction of the Artist as Person: A Tale of the Texas Panhandle," opening Friday at Process Art House.

Kennedy’s work will be on display beginning Friday at Process Art House in the show “The Deconstruction of the Artist as Person: A Tale of the Texas Panhandle,” running through Oct. 16.

In the show, Kennedy, an Amarillo native and art teacher at Caprock High School, will explore what he calls “the neutralization and inoculation of the term ‘art’ in mass culture.”

Part of the problem?

“Art has become about ownership,” Kennedy said.

“It should be about an idea or a concept or an ideology,” he said. “You want people to connect with your work on an intellectual level. If you connect with something intellectually, there’s really no reason to own it.”

But art now can be more about status or investment, something Kennedy is playing with in a series of works featured in the show.

In “The Craigslist Series,” Kennedy has documented what has happened with a series of ads he placed on the online classified ads site offering “original artwork by renowned artist” or the chance to title a work by that artist — himself, of course.

What the buyer gets, though, is the contract with Kennedy’s signature.

“I’m selling the idea without the physical product. I’m selling you the contracts,” Kennedy said. “It plays into this idea that anybody can be an artist. You can own the artwork without having the physical piece and, in essence, the contract and paperwork become the physical piece.”

Has anyone taken Kennedy up on the offer?

“I’ve sold a lot of these works to fake people, so I’m selling fake works to fake people,” he said. “The checks don’t cash, but you can get a check in the mail.”

How to go

■ What: “The Deconstruction of the Artist as Person: A Tale of the Texas Panhandle” by Shawn Kennedy